Personal watercraft are small, self-propelled boats that are typically used by only one or two people. One such type of personal watercraft is referred to as a Jet Ski®. While Jet Ski® is a registered trademark for personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., the term has become a genericized trademark for such watercraft. Jet Ski®-type watercraft are propelled by jets of rearwardly-ejected, pressurized water. When a Jet Ski® is not in use, it is desirable that it be stored out of the water. Because a water pump and/or impeller of a Jet Ski® can pick up debris when the Jet Ski® is parked on a beach, it is desirable to store a Jet Ski® on a dock or in a cradle above the water.
Because a Jet Ski® may be heavy, typically weighing several hundred pounds, lifting one out of the water after use is not a trivial task. Consequently, a lifting apparatus is often provided to lift the Jet Ski® above the water surface, and in some cases, onto a dock. The same lifting apparatus may, of course, be used to reinsert the Jet Ski® into the water when the watercraft is again to be used.
Unlike some small watercraft, personal watercraft (e.g., Jet Skis®) are extremely heavy. Also, because they include an engine and other mechanical components, they occasionally require service. While larger boats typically may be serviced in the water, Jet Skis® are too small to allow a mechanic or other service person to climb on board to perform some types of service. Consequently, at least some service operations are best performed on a Jet Ski® out of the water and, more specifically, with the Jet Ski® resting on a dock or other surface.
Boat lifts are well known in the prior art and are widely used to raise watercraft of all sizes out of the water. However, most known lifts simply raise the watercraft above the water surface but are incapable of moving the load (i.e., the watercraft) onto a dock. This is disadvantageous because Jet Skis® must be removed from the lift to be serviced or stored. Because Jet Skis® are heavy, they are difficult to move horizontally from a position out over the water onto the dock. Furthermore, servicing the Jet Ski® while it is located out over the water on a prior art boat lift is clumsy and difficult as the technician typically must lean out from the dock over the water.